Vow not to defend accused
Sopore, July 26: Even as police have reassured the people of this apple town of action under law against those involved in two sex scandals, the lawyers here today observed a day’s bandh and decided not to represent anyone of the accused in the cases. The Bar Association has called for stern action against the accused in both the cases that came to light recently.
During a protest strike, all the lawyers abstained from the courts today in protest against what they termed as the leniency shown by the police towards those arrested in connection with the two sex scandals busted recently. They alleged three of the five accused in one of the cases had been set free, a charge that the police vehemently denied.
Voicing its concern over the alleged leniency of police, the Bar Association demanded exemplary punishment to those involved in the cases. It announced its decision that none of its member lawyers would represent the accused. This, a spokesman of the Association said, would send the right signal across the town as also elsewhere that those involved such heinous crimes would find nobody to defend them in any judicial forum.
When contacted, the station house officer, Shabbir Ahmad, said there was no question of any leniency being shown to the persons involved in the two cases. In one of the cases pertaining to the alleged flesh trade at Khan Guest House, he said, the two brothers who owned the hotel, viz Nisar Ahmad Khan and Abdul Hameed Khan sons of Ghulam Nabi Khan, were arrested today, raising the number of those held so far to seven. He said the hotel has also been sealed.
Five persons arrested on July 22 have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Mir s/o Ghulam Muhammad of Mundji, Javed Ahmad Lone s/o Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Lone of Sofi Hamam, Riyaz Ahmad Khan s/o Muhammad Akbar r/o Gohan, Shameema d/o Muhammad Mukhtar Ganai of Mundji and Gulshan Begum w/o Nazir Ahmad Shah of Model Town.
The SHO said five persons, including the father and brother of the main accused, Basharat Bashir, had been taken into custody and a massive manhunt has been launched to nab him. He said Basharat is believed to be out of the state and police are after him. His father, Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, and brother, Sameer, have been arrested already alongwith three others, Muhammad Rafiq Mir s/o Ghulam Muhammad and Latif Ahmad Mir s/o Dilawar Mir, both of Adipora, and Muhammad Aslam Khuroo s/o Ghulam Mohi-ud-din of Aisha Computers, Chinkipora, Sopore.
Denying that anyone of the accused in the two cases had been released, the SHO said police had obtained a remand of five days from the court and all those arrested so far had been lodged in sub jail, Baramulla. “The investigation in both the cases is progressing vigorously and no quarter will be given to the accused”, he assured.
It may be recalled Basharat Bashir had subjected his former fiancee to sexploitation and blackmail after she obtained a divorce against a consideration of Rs 60,000 on coming to know that he allegedly had a criminal record. A computer engineer by profession, Bashir used the photographs of the girl to prepare blue films and video cassettes. Some other girls had also been subjected to the blackmail in the process. The police had raided his premises and seized several blue prints and VCDs.